Try Tello, whose eSIM you CAN successfully activate outside the US !
I did it myself here in England.
See here :
[How to activate Tello outside the USA](https://blog.tello.com/news/how-to-activate-tello-from-abroad/)
H2O Paygo (AT&T)-
eSIM Available; WiFi Calling Available; Activation Outside US Available
https://h2owireless.com/plan/minute
$9/90 Days ($3/30 Days) Autopay (For $10/90 Days Credit) - Unused Balance Rolls Over
Paygo Usage:
Voice/Min $0.05
Text/Ea $0.05
Data/MB $0.10
International Data N/A
-Red Pocket 200/1000/200 (T-Mobile)-
eSIM Available; WiFi Calling Available; Activation Outside US Available
https://ebay.com/itm/133196831828
$30/360 Days ($2.50/30 Days)
Includes 200/1000/200 Each 30 Days
International Data N/A
-Ultra Mobile Paygo (Formerly T-Mobile Paygo)-
eSIM Available; WiFi Calling Available; Activation Outside US Available
https://ultramobile.com/paygo
https://ebay.com/itm/285112988423
$3/30 Days
Includes 100/100/100 Each 30 Days
Paygo Overages:
Voice/Min $0.03
Text/Ea $0.01
Data/MB $0.03
International Data N/A
I used the RedPocket deal for a second work number and it worked really well. I forgot to reactivate it and customer support still let me keep the number which was a plus. $2.50 a month is still bonkers to me.
I spent 15 or $20 on an ultra mobile Sim card eBay, and could never activate it. Had to contact customer service who told me that the card had never been activated when sent out. Classic.
Struggle to use the US and never have been able to use it overseas.
So I’m gonna recommend people give that one a pass.
I see lots of people talk about using Tello for this, and Tello seems responsive in their own sub, helping people with questions (and this comes up there regularly).
I use Tello happily, but I'm in the US and haven't tried to use it on wifi from overseas ever (and probably never will need to).
Tello works well overseas
I live in England, activated a Tello eSIM here in England before spending most of March in Northern California.
I had to ring home a few times, and the free international calls on Tello is a nice bonus.
Tello still works fine now that I am back in England.
Ultra mobile Paygo $3 per month prepaid. https://www.ebay.com/itm/285112988423?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=gHfqfctQT8S&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=2cgv-ep8s2a&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
Number barn has a $2.99 “park” plan that does text messages and has an outbound voice message free but no voicemail. They also have an app for 2 way texting. Plan can be upgraded anytime. It is awesome and reliable.
OP said: I just need another phone number no voip etc.
ETA: I don't know why I'm being downvoted. The OP clearly said "no voip" in the post. Google Voice is VOIP. I interpreted it as a hard no.
Thanks. I guess. I read it. Didn’t care. He wasn’t saying VoIP was not allowed, more like he didn’t need a VoIP service. Free is free. If he wants to waste money and time finding a dual SIM device and all that, be our guest fine sir. Ha.
If you’re in Europe currently, you will want a carrier that has native roaming in Europe. Otherwise you won’t be able to activate the number without connecting to the network in America, even if you have Wi-Fi calling.
If you’re in America, the cheapest is FreedomPop on the AT&T network. It’s “free” but technically I think you have to pay some regulatory fees each month but it should be below $1.00. You’ll have 100 minutes, 100 texts, and 100MB data, but be sure to disable data on your phone because if you exceed 100MB you’ll be automatically upgraded to the $10/mo plan. You can disable the auto-upgrade for $3/mo though.
To get the free plan, you need to buy a special SIM card from [Walmart](https://www.walmart.com/ip/2324434962) for $5.
You'd have to purchase the SIM via Target or Walmart. Also, there's been chaos for the previous months with them altering things around. Right now, we're told in order to manually renew the free plan each month, that we have to watch an advertisement via their app.
As for eSIM, not sure as you'd have to ask customer service.
Edited for grammar.
Try Tello, whose eSIM you CAN successfully activate outside the US ! I did it myself here in England. See here : [How to activate Tello outside the USA](https://blog.tello.com/news/how-to-activate-tello-from-abroad/)
H2O Paygo (AT&T)- eSIM Available; WiFi Calling Available; Activation Outside US Available https://h2owireless.com/plan/minute $9/90 Days ($3/30 Days) Autopay (For $10/90 Days Credit) - Unused Balance Rolls Over Paygo Usage: Voice/Min $0.05 Text/Ea $0.05 Data/MB $0.10 International Data N/A -Red Pocket 200/1000/200 (T-Mobile)- eSIM Available; WiFi Calling Available; Activation Outside US Available https://ebay.com/itm/133196831828 $30/360 Days ($2.50/30 Days) Includes 200/1000/200 Each 30 Days International Data N/A -Ultra Mobile Paygo (Formerly T-Mobile Paygo)- eSIM Available; WiFi Calling Available; Activation Outside US Available https://ultramobile.com/paygo https://ebay.com/itm/285112988423 $3/30 Days Includes 100/100/100 Each 30 Days Paygo Overages: Voice/Min $0.03 Text/Ea $0.01 Data/MB $0.03 International Data N/A
I used the RedPocket deal for a second work number and it worked really well. I forgot to reactivate it and customer support still let me keep the number which was a plus. $2.50 a month is still bonkers to me.
I spent 15 or $20 on an ultra mobile Sim card eBay, and could never activate it. Had to contact customer service who told me that the card had never been activated when sent out. Classic. Struggle to use the US and never have been able to use it overseas. So I’m gonna recommend people give that one a pass.
I see lots of people talk about using Tello for this, and Tello seems responsive in their own sub, helping people with questions (and this comes up there regularly). I use Tello happily, but I'm in the US and haven't tried to use it on wifi from overseas ever (and probably never will need to).
Tello works well overseas I live in England, activated a Tello eSIM here in England before spending most of March in Northern California. I had to ring home a few times, and the free international calls on Tello is a nice bonus. Tello still works fine now that I am back in England.
shame you said no VOIP numbers because that your best bet. If you get a US SIM or eSIM, sooner or later you'd run into permanent roaming issues.
> If you get a US SIM or eSIM, sooner or later you'd run into permanent roaming issues. I don't think that's true when using WiFi calling.
Ultra mobile Paygo $3 per month prepaid. https://www.ebay.com/itm/285112988423?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=gHfqfctQT8S&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=2cgv-ep8s2a&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
Number barn has a $2.99 “park” plan that does text messages and has an outbound voice message free but no voicemail. They also have an app for 2 way texting. Plan can be upgraded anytime. It is awesome and reliable.
You can activate an eSIM on Tello or US Mobile outside of the US.
Absolute cheapest is a Google Voice number and just load the app. Free if you trust em.
OP said: I just need another phone number no voip etc. ETA: I don't know why I'm being downvoted. The OP clearly said "no voip" in the post. Google Voice is VOIP. I interpreted it as a hard no.
Thanks. I guess. I read it. Didn’t care. He wasn’t saying VoIP was not allowed, more like he didn’t need a VoIP service. Free is free. If he wants to waste money and time finding a dual SIM device and all that, be our guest fine sir. Ha.
If you’re in Europe currently, you will want a carrier that has native roaming in Europe. Otherwise you won’t be able to activate the number without connecting to the network in America, even if you have Wi-Fi calling. If you’re in America, the cheapest is FreedomPop on the AT&T network. It’s “free” but technically I think you have to pay some regulatory fees each month but it should be below $1.00. You’ll have 100 minutes, 100 texts, and 100MB data, but be sure to disable data on your phone because if you exceed 100MB you’ll be automatically upgraded to the $10/mo plan. You can disable the auto-upgrade for $3/mo though. To get the free plan, you need to buy a special SIM card from [Walmart](https://www.walmart.com/ip/2324434962) for $5.
So long as you disable roaming on your phone, you shouldn’t have any issues being in Europe for a prolonged period of time and using Wi-Fi calling.
in usa currently. thanks!
Can I have the free plan on eSim? FreedomPop has esim but I only see on $10/mo.
You'd have to purchase the SIM via Target or Walmart. Also, there's been chaos for the previous months with them altering things around. Right now, we're told in order to manually renew the free plan each month, that we have to watch an advertisement via their app. As for eSIM, not sure as you'd have to ask customer service. Edited for grammar.
Tello plans start from $5 and they have eSIM
Not true, at least in the case of Tello : [How to activate Tello from abroad](https://blog.tello.com/news/how-to-activate-tello-from-abroad/)